Honor Bright [Hardcover]

Randall Platt (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up

In the summer of 1944, much of the world is at war. Fourteen-year-old Teddy is waging her own private war against herself, her brother, and especially her perfect, and perfectly despised, mother. Forced to spend the summer at the beach with a grandmother she'd never met, Teddy faces her enemies with arrogance and a sharp anger. But as the summer unfolds, she begins to learn the answers to some painful questions about the past--a past that destroyed her family and left her mother and grandmother bitterly divided. This story of a family beginning to make peace is a powerful coming-of-age novel that explores the relationships of three generations of women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this WWII domestic drama, 14-year-old Teddy discovers family secrets and resentments when she and her twin brother spend a summer at their grandmother's house. Ages 12- up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9. World War II is not the only war raging in this family story. Teddy, 14, constantly battles her mother, Dee Dee, who in turn has an acrimonious relationship with her own mother, Rose. In the summer of 1944, Dee Dee takes Teddy and her twin brother, Howie, to stay with Rose so that she can work an extra shift at the factory. Gradually, readers learn that the source of the family's pain is a Christmas fire that occurred 10 years earlier killing the twins' father and infant sister and leaving Teddy with badly scarred hands. Teddy, the classic ugly duckling character, has always been blamed by her mother for what happened. Bits and pieces of the incident and misunderstandings that led to the broken relationships are revealed throughout the novel. The climax comes about when Teddy makes her mother remember that it was really Howie who started the fire by playing with matches. The ramifications of this revelation are never explored, nor are Teddy's reasons for keeping the secret. The author effectively portrays the incredible hurt and anger among the family members, but the trite, easy resolution is unconvincing. All of the characters' raw language seems gratuitous and becomes tiresome after a point. The casualness with which drinking is portrayed is problematic as well. Rose and Dee Dee get drunk every time they meet, and Howie drinks to escape his pain and to fit in with a group of teens. Only Teddy is mildly disdainful of alcohol. Overall, the book lacks the depth of Katherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved (HarperCollins, 1980), which also deals with family pain.?Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day School Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038532216X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385322164
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,872,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supprisingly good, February 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Honor Bright (Laurel-Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had to read this book for school and I thought I wouldn't like it at first. Then, when I started reading I got sucked in. I somehow could identify with the characters in this book. All of the profanity and drinking in this story I think added to it rather than subtracted from it. I recomed you read this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful example of historical fiction, October 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Honor Bright (Laurel-Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a wonderful book, and I really enjoyed it. It has very real examples of mother-daughter differences. Honor Bright was very realistic from the 1940's point of view. It has a shocking suprise ending. I highly reccommend this book for young adults. This book is a must-buy!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Adult Novel for the Young Adult., September 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Honor Bright (Hardcover)

It's refreshing to find a fine author like Platt writing for young adults, and not down to them. Platt speaks the language of the 1944 adolescent, as it was actually spoken, and not as we like to remember it. A novel dripping with truth, not platitude. The reader can only hope that Platt writes more just like it